September 12 Letter--New Area

Hello all! The new area is amazing. It it a city- with millions of people. Ok, I
don't know if there are millions, but there are so many people. It is a little
bit hard because they are all so well educated, but a little on the prideful
side. We've learned that if they will let us meet with them they probably will
get baptized. We have a baptism this weekend and then a family the next! It is
so awesome. I love to see their lives change- I love to see the light turn on
inside of them. I never have really seen the light turn on before--- you can
actually see it in their eyes. You can see a difference in their countenance.
When we go to meet with investigators, you can tell by looking at them if they
have been reading and praying. It is exciting when they have been!

My new area has every American restaurant- pretty much. My companion, Sis Kang,
really wants to go to Outback Steak House. She has never been to one before-
being from a small town in Taiwan. So I am sure we will probably be going there
sometime in the next six weeks. It is crazy how fast time goes.

Opening the area hasn't been to hard--- our ward mission leader doesn't like my
companion. He refuses to talk to her and talks to me in English so she can't
understand. So that is a little awkward especially since I can't talk to him if
she isn't involved in the conversation (mission rule.) There are a lot of people
who have seen the missionaries in other areas and self contact us. So that makes
contacting pretty easy when they just walk up to you and say "shenme shi?" which
is like what are you/ who are you? We are having a hard time getting members
involved. We have two wards of about 25 people in each so we have to go on
"fenkai gongzuo" (splits?) on Sundays. Makes my communicating interesting- I did
understand that I had been asked to say the prayer in R.S. and bear my testimony
in Sacrament so that is an improvement.

Let's see... what else? We have a cultural center in our area. So a lot of
people from all over Taiwan come to it. So we get lots of referrals for other
areas. We actually are going to go there today so we can see what's inside. It
should be an adventure... President Hoer told us that is what preparation day is
about. Learning about and loving the culture. We have been encouraged to site
see--- so no complaints here! I can work hard for six days and then rest for
one- no problem!

Thanks for the e-mails this week. I appreciate them and look forward to my hour
of e-mail. I will send some pictures... Sorry they all are random pictures. It
is hard because we can only take pictures on preparation day, so it isn't really
an accurate portrayal of everyday.

I love you all and prayer for you daily!

Sis Shaver